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Rule 2. Commission on Judicial Performance Review

Arizona Revised Statutes AnnotatedRules of Procedure for Judicial Performance Review in the State of ArizonaEffective: January 1, 2020

Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated
Rules of Procedure for Judicial Performance Review in the State of Arizona (Refs & Annos)
Effective: January 1, 2020
17C A.R.S. Rules of Proc. for Jud. Perf. Review, Rule 2
Rule 2. Commission on Judicial Performance Review
A system of periodic review of the performance of each judge subject to retention shall be administered by the Commission on Judicial Performance Review. The activities and operations of the Commission shall be governed by the following provisions:
(a) Composition of the Commission. The Commission shall be composed of not more than 34 members appointed by the Supreme Court. The Commission shall be composed of members of the public, attorneys, and judges. The majority of the members of the Commission shall be members of the public who are not attorneys or judges, and there shall be no more than 7 judges and 6 attorneys on the Commission.
(b) Chairperson. The Chief Justice of Arizona shall select either an attorney member or a public member as the Chairperson of the Commission. The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Commission. The Chairperson shall select either an attorney member or a public member as Vice Chairperson. If the Chairperson is an attorney member, the Vice Chairperson must be a public member. The Vice Chairperson shall preside at all meetings in the Chairperson's absence.
(c) Terms. Each member of the Commission shall serve for a term of four years and be eligible for reappointment. In the case of a vacancy which occurs before expiration of a term, the member appointed to fill such vacancy shall serve for the duration of the unexpired term.
(d) Meetings; Quorum; Majority. The Commission shall meet at the call of the Chairperson not less than two times each year and shall conduct no business except upon the attendance of a quorum of the commission members. A quorum is constituted by 1/2 + 1 of the total Commission membership in office at the time of the meeting and eligible to vote. Members shall be permitted to attend and participate in meetings by telephone or video-conference. All meetings shall be open to the public except as provided in paragraph (e) below. Except as otherwise provided by these rules and Rule 6(e)(3), all actions shall require a majority vote of 1/2 + 1 of those present and eligible to vote.
(e) Executive Session. The Commission shall meet in executive session with respect to any agenda item which would involve disclosure of matters made confidential by these rules, any other court rules, or by law. In addition, in order to promote open and frank discussion and accuracy in the performance evaluation process, the Commission shall meet in executive session at the time of: (1) discussion (not including voting) of the Commission's finding as to whether a judge “meets” or “does not meet” judicial performance standards; (2) presentation and discussion of a judge's written comment submitted in response to a finding that the judge “does not meet” judicial performance standards; and (3) a judge's appearance before the Commission, provided, however, that an executive session in which a judge appears shall be held prior to the public vote meeting. The Commission may meet in executive session at any other time upon a majority vote of the Commission members then in attendance. The substance of deliberations in executive session shall not be disclosed. All voting shall be in public session.
(f) Membership on Conference Teams. Any member of the Commission may be a member of a Conference Team as described in Rule 4 below.
(g) Powers and Duties of the Commission. The powers and duties of the Commission shall be as follows subject to approval by the Supreme Court:
(1)(a) To develop, review and recommend amendments on written performance standards, to be approved by the Supreme Court and made available to the public, by which judicial performance is to be evaluated; (b) to formulate policies and procedures for collecting information and conducting reviews; and (c) to create and supervise a program of periodic review of the performance of each judge who is subject to the merit selection system. The Commission shall directly review the performance of justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals, and judges of the Superior Court subject to retention. Before retention elections, the Commission shall publicly announce whether each judge standing for retention “meets” or “does not meet” judicial performance standards, in accordance with the provisions of Rule 6 below.
(2) To identify key areas where improvement is needed and work with the Committee on Judicial Education and Training to prioritize areas and offer required courses to meet educational needs.
(3) To request public comment and hold public hearings on the performance of all judges subject to retention at announced times prior to the public vote meeting. Public comment by anyone other than a member of the Commission regarding a judge under review shall be prohibited at the public vote meeting.
(h) Minutes/Correspondence. The Chairperson shall assure that minutes are kept and approved at each subsequent meeting. Minutes of meetings of the Commission shall be made available to the public. Either the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson at the direction of the chairperson shall sign all correspondence for the Commission.
(i) Spokesperson. The Chairperson of the Commission may select a member of the Commission to serve as a spokesperson to speak for the Commission in any of its contacts with the media concerning actions it has taken regarding reviewed judges.
(j) Failure to Attend Meetings. Any member who fails to attend fifty per cent (50%) of the scheduled meetings during a calendar year may be removed from the Commission on recommendation of the Chairperson at the discretion of the Chief Justice.

Credits

Promulgated on an emergency basis effective May 26, 1993, adopted in final form July 8, 1993. Amended Feb. 27, 1996, effective Feb. 9, 1996; Oct. 6, 1997, effective Dec. 1, 1997; Jan. 26, 2004, effective June 1, 2004. Amended and effective April 27, 2004. Amended April 27, 2004, effective June 1, 2004; Jan. 20, 2006, effective June 1, 2006; Aug. 27, 2015, effective Jan. 1, 2016; amended on an emergency basis Aug. 27, 2019, effective Sept. 1, 2019, adopted on a permanent basis Dec. 12, 2019.
17C A. R. S. Rules of Proc. for Jud. Perf. Review, Rule 2, AZ ST J PERF REVIEW Rule 2
State Court Rules are current with amendments received and effective through March 15, 2023. The Code of Judicial Administration is current with amendments received through March 15, 2023.
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